Bargaining
by OtterAndTerrier
Summary: [COMPLETE] "Listen, I know it isn't what you want to hear but have you considered apologizing?" - Luke mediates between his two very stubborn friends. (pre-ESB)


'Listen, I know it isn't what you want to hear but have you considered apologizing?'

Luke was growing tired. Somehow, he had become a bouncing ball between his two friends, trying to make them solve their latest rift. If he thought about it, it wasn't entirely negative for him: he had lost his family, his mentor, had left everything behind, and yet he had gained these two people (and a Wookiee, and several other rebel comrades). The fact that he even bothered to try and convince Han and Leia to be on speaking terms again was a testament of how much Luke had come to care for them.

But it was still a pain in the ass when said friends had a short fuse and were both prone to set each other alight.

Han glared at him over the rectenna he was angrily adjusting.

'Me, apologize? For what? So Her Highnessness can turn her little nose up at me again and tell me to go grow tangaroot on Hoth?'

Luke snorted in spite of himself and Han's scowl deepened. 'She said that?'

'How's that an insult?' Han spat.

'Because tangaroot grows on Tatooine, so—'

'I kriffin' know that, kid!'

'Okay, sorry! She was just angry, Han, you both were. If you said sorry—'

''M not sorry,' Han grumbled, fixing his eyes back on the rectenna, though his hands weren't moving. 'Dunno why she's gotta get herself so riled up anyway. I'm still here, ain't I?'

'Yeah, you are, but you keep saying how pointless you think this whole thing is!' Luke cried out, exasperated. 'So why are you still here?'

Han put his hands down, shoulders sagging slightly as he gave Luke a quick glance before looking away.

'Because that's what Leia wonders, you know,' Luke pressed on. There was a heavy pause, and he nervously ran his fingers through his hair before breaking it. 'I guess what I'm trying to say is… her will to fight and the hope that she can help the Rebellion win this war are all Leia has left. She doesn't need to be reminded all the time that we're still losing.'

Having said all he had to say, Luke got off the hull and walked away without waiting for a reply.

* * *

'Leia, I know you don't want to hear this, but have you considered apologizing?'

Leia shook her head slightly, sighing at the readouts she was studying.

' _I_ have to apologize? I don't think so. I'm not the one who's walking around insulting people left, right and center—'

'You did call his ship ugly and dumb…'

'Because he _is_ ugly and dumb… his ship, I—Luke, please, if that's all, I have a lot—'

'Did you know he's only taking enough money to pay for fuel lately?' Luke asked, watching closely for her reaction. Her façade barely wavered, but he could tell she didn't know. 'You ask too much of him sometimes, it's like you want him to say no!'

Leia finally tore her eyes away from the screen to glare at him. Luke was getting used to being glared at by now. 'I ask of him what I ask of any soldier, any pilot, any ally. He's at liberty to refuse and leave.'

'Yeah, and does he?' Luke insisted.

Leia's shoulders dropped for a second, lips parting and then pressing together as she swallowed.

'Han's not just any ally. He's a friend.' Luke fiddled with the wrist fastening of his flight suit in the silence that followed. 'What I'm trying to say is, it's no good if you make him feel like he's just a tool, like it's the same to you if he stays or goes. Seems like he might've gotten a lot of that in life.'

Patting Leia's console in goodbye, he turned around and left.

* * *

'How many more of these?'

'More. You offered, so keep pushin' them, kid.'

Luke rolled his eyes and pushed his freshly-loaded repulsor cart up the _Millennium Falcon_ 's ramp and into the rear cargo hold, stacking the crates more or less tidily against the ones he'd already helped load.

He passed Chewie by on his way back, carrying a cart of his own, and the Wookiee growled in encouragement. Luke was about to walk down the ramp again when he saw Leia approaching. His first instinct was to hurry up and greet her, but she was walking towards Han. Luke remembered at once that they still hadn't—to his knowledge—made up. Subtly taking a step back, he decided to wait just out of sight behind the hatch, enough to still be able to see what would go down between his friends this time (and intervene, if necessary).

Han had been checking every crate they loaded and logging the information into his datapad, one elbow braced on top a barrel as he leaned sideways into it, legs crossed at the ankles. The moment he caught sight of the princess, though, his relaxed stance slipped away. He straightened, a bit stiffly, and rubbed the back of his neck.

'Princess.'

'Captain,' Leia said with a little nod. She looked composed, shoulders back and voice steady, but her hands clasped loosely at the front were a sign of diplomacy, Luke knew. And the openness of her gaze a sign of contrition. 'I heard you were leaving soon.'

'Yeah. Gotta take some supplies to Hoth.'

Leia nodded and bowed her head briefly, perhaps in a failed attempt (to Luke's snooping eyes) to hide her small smile.

'We really appreciate it. Your ship is one of the few that has been able to navigate Hoth's atmosphere during this seasonal cycle without any major complications.' She paused and licked her lips, hesitant. 'And… it's because of your skills as a pilot, too. I—'

'Hey, 's nothing,' Han cut her off. Luke couldn't see his face, but the smuggler's voice carried through the ramp, gruff but soft. 'Gotta help prep the place, right? Anything I can do—'

'Right. Thank you.' Again, there was a silence; Luke thought Leia looked like she wanted to turn around and leave… or else throw her arms around Han. She shuffled her feet, then took a step forward and laid a hand on his wrist. 'Be careful, Han.'

Drawing back her hand, she crossed her arms protectively against her chest and started to walk away.

Han watched her go for a few seconds—Luke could picture a stunned look on his face—before he seemed to recover.

'I'll bring you some tangaroot!' he finally yelled at the retreating princess, who looked over her shoulder and grinned.

Letting a few more seconds go by before he went back down, Luke shook his head to himself. Neither of them had given the other a proper apology, they both were so damn stubborn and guarded… Yet they had both, in a way, acknowledged and rectified their previous accusations, and it seemed to be enough for them, for now.

Until the next time, Luke wasn't going to complain about it.

* * *

 **A/N:** If you enjoyed it, leave a comment! :)


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